Polly: Mercury poisoning lowers glutathione levels in the body. Yet good glutathione levels are very important for the mercury poisoned because it protects their nervous system from being damaged by the mercury. Unfortunately, supplements of glutathione are not always tolerated because the cysteine in the glutathione moves the mercury around. (Cysteine moves aluminum and other metals around, too. There may also be other reasons, like a lack of zinc increasing cysteine’ s toxicity, or cysteine depressing thyroid.)
If cysteine levels are high, glycine and glutamine can be taken in the hopes that they will combine with the cysteine and produce more glutathione. But if cysteine levels are low, what can you do? David Quig, PhD has an interesting hypothesis. You might be able to use other aminos to blunt the adverse effects of cysteine or glutathione supplementation. These amino acids are valine, phenylalanine, tyrosine, tryptophan and the branch chain amino acids. These amino acids inhibit the transport of methyl mercurycysteine into the brain. A convenient source of these amino acids is whey. It is a good source of cysteine as well as these protective amino acids. Dr. David Quig also implies that there may be need for supplemental cysteine if you are using the chelator DMSA. DMSA binds to cysteine and therefore might deplete the body of cysteine. [20] Taking the whey inbetween treatments may be helpful.
Andy Cutler: The problem is not the mercury being transported INTO the brain, which is insignificant. The problem is that the glutathione - SH and cysteine stirs up the large amount of mercury that is already IN the brain. People need the right amount of cysteine. About half of mercury toxic people need to eat more, and about half need to exclude it from their diets. Nobody needs as much as they get by taking a lot of whey protein. It is never appropriate to attempt to detoxify mercury with cysteine. This can’ t help and is always harmful. The purpose of taking supplementary cysteine is to get the "sulfur” level into the low end or middle of the normal range so your body works like it is supposed to while you use CHELATING AGENTS, which are effective for mercury. You must also use these chelating agents on a proper administration schedule. Any other use of them is extremely harmful to you. Unfortunately many doctors do not know how to use chelating agents properly. DMPS, DMSA and lipoic acid are chelating agents. EDTA is one but doesn't help with mercury. Cysteine, glutathione, MSM and “high sulfur diets” are NOT chelating agents, and they can NOT remove any mercury from your brain, and are always harmful. Improper uses of the chelating agents are things like DMPS by injection, DMSA every other day, or lipoic acid daily. Proper use is described in my book Amalgam Illness: Diagnosis and Treatment. See http://hometown.aol.com/andycutler.
For people who are low cysteine, whey is a good source of BCAA’ s (Branch Chain Amino Acids). For people who are high cysteine, they need a BCAA only product like the Life Extension Foundation sells. If you are low in cortisol you can’t use BCAA’s anyway, so there is no sense taking them. Whey protein is GREAT for AIDS patients. Just not good for a lot of heavy metal victims. Cysteine increases the mobility of the metals and increases the amount of toxic damage they do A LOT.
Polly: Lowered branch chain amino acids are found in fibromyalgia and in people suffering from overexposure to ammonia. That probably pertains to many of us.
Iron And Fluoride
Polly: Some people feel that iron overload can be a big factor in autism. If an accumulation of iron is present, its removal is imperative. Iron overload can damage the brain. Iron overload is much more prevalent in those with epilepsy and may be a very important underlying factor in this condition. [21] Iron overload is also associated with mental retardation, Parkinson disease, dementia, and ataxia. To remove iron, you can use DMSA and lipoic acid. However, IP6 seems to presently be the preferred by the people on the autism-iron chat group. Also, see this article: www.ironoverload.org/brain.html
There is also a group of people devoted to spreading the word about the harmful effects of fluoride in autism. Fluoride interferes with thyroid. http://64.177.90.157/autism/index.html There is growing concern that fluoride, even at low doses, is harmful to the body.
Polly: Mercury poisoning lowers glutathione levels in the body. Yet good glutathione levels are very important for the mercury poisoned because it protects their nervous system from being damaged by the mercury. Unfortunately, supplements of glutathione are not always tolerated because the cysteine in the glutathione moves the mercury around. (Cysteine moves aluminum and other metals around, too. There may also be other reasons, like a lack of zinc increasing cysteine’ s toxicity, or cysteine depressing thyroid.)
If cysteine levels are high, glycine and glutamine can be taken in the hopes that they will combine with the cysteine and produce more glutathione. But if cysteine levels are low, what can you do? David Quig, PhD has an interesting hypothesis. You might be able to use other aminos to blunt the adverse effects of cysteine or glutathione supplementation. These amino acids are valine, phenylalanine, tyrosine, tryptophan and the branch chain amino acids. These amino acids inhibit the transport of methyl mercurycysteine into the brain. A convenient source of these amino acids is whey. It is a good source of cysteine as well as these protective amino acids. Dr. David Quig also implies that there may be need for supplemental cysteine if you are using the chelator DMSA. DMSA binds to cysteine and therefore might deplete the body of cysteine. [20] Taking the whey inbetween treatments may be helpful.
Andy Cutler: The problem is not the mercury being transported INTO the brain, which is insignificant. The problem is that the glutathione - SH and cysteine stirs up the large amount of mercury that is already IN the brain. People need the right amount of cysteine. About half of mercury toxic people need to eat more, and about half need to exclude it from their diets. Nobody needs as much as they get by taking a lot of whey protein. It is never appropriate to attempt to detoxify mercury with cysteine. This can’ t help and is always harmful. The purpose of taking supplementary cysteine is to get the "sulfur” level into the low end or middle of the normal range so your body works like it is supposed to while you use CHELATING AGENTS, which are effective for mercury. You must also use these chelating agents on a proper administration schedule. Any other use of them is extremely harmful to you. Unfortunately many doctors do not know how to use chelating agents properly. DMPS, DMSA and lipoic acid are chelating agents. EDTA is one but doesn't help with mercury. Cysteine, glutathione, MSM and “high sulfur diets” are NOT chelating agents, and they can NOT remove any mercury from your brain, and are always harmful. Improper uses of the chelating agents are things like DMPS by injection, DMSA every other day, or lipoic acid daily. Proper use is described in my book Amalgam Illness: Diagnosis and Treatment. See http://hometown.aol.com/andycutler.
For people who are low cysteine, whey is a good source of BCAA’ s (Branch Chain Amino Acids). For people who are high cysteine, they need a BCAA only product like the Life Extension Foundation sells. If you are low in cortisol you can’t use BCAA’s anyway, so there is no sense taking them. Whey protein is GREAT for AIDS patients. Just not good for a lot of heavy metal victims. Cysteine increases the mobility of the metals and increases the amount of toxic damage they do A LOT.
Polly: Lowered branch chain amino acids are found in fibromyalgia and in people suffering from overexposure to ammonia. That probably pertains to many of us.
Iron And Fluoride
Polly: Some people feel that iron overload can be a big factor in autism. If an accumulation of iron is present, its removal is imperative. Iron overload can damage the brain. Iron overload is much more prevalent in those with epilepsy and may be a very important underlying factor in this condition. [21] Iron overload is also associated with mental retardation, Parkinson disease, dementia, and ataxia. To remove iron, you can use DMSA and lipoic acid. However, IP6 seems to presently be the preferred by the people on the autism-iron chat group. Also, see this article: www.ironoverload.org/brain.html
There is also a group of people devoted to spreading the word about the harmful effects of fluoride in autism. Fluoride interferes with thyroid. http://64.177.90.157/autism/index.html There is growing concern that fluoride, even at low doses, is harmful to the body.